Downtown Phoenix will be filled with the rhythmic sound of feet thumping the road Sunday morning, as 30,000 runners take part in the state's eighth annual P.F. Chang's Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon and 1/2 Marathon.
Competitors such as world-class runners Kara Goucher and Josh Cox are running to set new records. But others such as Sharon Baker of Chandler are running to raise money for charity and to remember people they have lost.
Baker is among 154 Arizona half-marathon and marathon runners pounding the pavement this weekend as part of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team in Training, often called "TNT," which raises money for blood-cancer research and to help patients suffering from blood cancer.
The nationwide TNT program is among 13 charitable programs with teams registered for Sunday's marathon and half-marathon. Nationally, TNT is one of the longest-running efforts to raise funds for a cause while training people to participate in half-marathons, marathons, 100-mile bike rides, long hikes and triathlons.
TNT has offered training for the events since 1988, when a team of 38 runners trained and then ran the New York City Marathon. The group raised $320,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
While training for Sunday's marathon and half-marathon, Arizona TNT participants raised $218,416.
Each TNT participant runs for different reasons. On race day, they are recognized by their purple jerseys.
HENRY "HANK" WOODRUM
AGE: 64.
CITY: Mesa.
WHY DOES HE RUN?
Woodrum, a TNT coach, said he started running with TNT in 2005 for his late father, Henry C. Woodrum. "He survived training as a pilot. He survived World War II. But he didn't survive multiple myeloma," he said. His father died at 71.
Woodrum and his brother Mike Woodrum self-published the book "Walkout," their father's story of hiding from the Germans after he was shot down outside of Paris. A portion of the sales, including copies at Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe, will be donated to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
Woodrum is leading a TNT Valley team for a marathon in Paris this spring.
SHARON BAKER
AGE: 31.
CITY: Chandler.
WHY DOES SHE RUN? She runs for her husband Wesley Baker, who died at the age of 32 on July 4, 2010, after a 13-year battle with lymphoma. They were best friends. "I had been in denial," Baker recalled. "Anything that would happen to him, I would say, 'It's going to be all right.' And he gave me signs. He said, 'If anything ever happens to me, I want you to get married again.' When (he died), I was devastated."
JOHNNY WILLIAMS
AGE: 32.
CITY: Phoenix.
WHY DOES HE RUN? His cousin, Brian Loughman, who died at 24 in September after being diagnosed with skin cancer. After learning of his diagnosis, "I just wanted to raise money to fight cancer," Williams said. "You can't take life for granted."
CATHY SWANN
AGE: 41.
CITY: Tempe.
WHY DOES SHE RUN? Swann ran with TNT in 2003 and returned to TNT in 2009 when her father Leonard Copple was diagnosed with leukemia. He died at age 68 in May 2010. By then, she was a team captain for TNT. "For me, it's the people," she said. "The people who decide to do something like this - they have just got spirit."
TOM KELBEN
AGE: 53.
CITY: Gilbert.
WHY DOES HE RUN? He doesn't know anyone close to him suffering from cancer, but when he learned about the program, he grew interested. "I wasn't really planning on joining, but this is such a good cause," Kelben said. "It's one thing to do it for yourself, but it means so much more if you do it for somebody else."
Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/community/tempe/articles/2011/01/15/20110115tempe-p-f-changs-rock-n-roll-arizona-marathon-cancer-research.html#ixzz1B80AWXOE
